Farm animal welfare

Over a billion farm animals are reared every year in the UK, as well as many millions of fish. It's a huge challenge to try to improve the welfare of many animals, but we're working hard to try to do so at every stage of their lives.

Piglets in Freedom Food accredited breeding unit, Dingley Dell Products, Suffolk, UK

We work tirelessly to lobby decision-makers to strengthen legislation, campaign to outlaw cruel practices such as live exports and hens in cages, and create world-leading welfare standards to improve the lives of millions of animals being farmed right now. We are also working to end intensive, lower welfare farming which is one of the biggest welfare issues facing animals today.

Governments, food retailers and you, the consumer, all have the power to help raise welfare standards for farmed animals. This is why we are calling for people to eat less animal products and when they do, to choose higher welfare. Creating a demand for higher welfare products will have real-world impact by raising up standards on farms and impacting the lives of millions of animals.

The law alone isn't always strong or detailed enough to ensure that they all have a good quality of life or that they're transported and slaughtered humanely. We work in a number of different ways to encourage improvements, and we always use all available scientific information and practical evidence to help inform development of our policies and activities.

Duty for farm animal welfare doesn't just lie with the farmers and stock-keepers who look after them. Governments, food retailers and you, the consumer, all have the power to help raise welfare standards and ensure all farm animals can lead lives worth living.

We want to see production methods labelled on all animal products. Helping you make more informed choices when shopping.